Reviews

Review: 2XL 4 Corners Headphones

It’s been a while since I reviewed the Brickyard headphones from 2XL.  I really like  them even though their over the ear  style design can become warm on the ears. 2XL has solved the sweaty ear problem with a new style of headphones in the new 4 Corner Style of headphones. The design of these new headphones is unique in that instead of round like traditional headphones of this style, these are square. The square shape of these headphones do not make them at all uncomfortable.


Review: WinX DVD Ripper Platinum (and comparison to Free version)

Recently I was preparing to take a business trip over a weekend for a conference, and figured it would be a nice opportunity to watch a couple of DVD’s that the rest of the family didn’t have any interest in seeing yet again – Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Ran’ and The Marx Brothers’ ‘Night at the Opera’. My assumption was that I would use the Mac program Handbrake, which has done very nicely getting video from our DVDs to our kids’ iPods for long trips. At the same time I had the opportunity to look at WinX DVD Ripper Free Edition, and…


X-Mini Speakers Review

X-Mini makes some really functional and really small speakers which are meant to be used with your multimedia devices. The company was kind enough to send over a both their X-Mini II & X-Mini Max II for review. Do these tiny speakers pack enough punch to rock out too? Read on to find out.


With ReelDirector App Flip Loses Key Advantage Over iPhone

The iPhone shoots video that is “good enough”. The Flip UltraHD shoots video that is better. That allows the Flip to maintain a slight edge over the iPhone but just slight. The HUGE advantage the Flip series had was the inclusion of built-in editing software. Once plugged in to a computer, the software popped up and allowed you to trim video and add credits. That key advantage is now GONE thanks to the $7.99 app ReelDirector. It is pretty impressive…


SubHunt for iPhone OS Review

Sub Hunt from Addicting Games is a shooting game the puts you under the sea in your very own submarine. The game features three different control methods, tons of weapons and upgrades, music and more.   It’s an entertaining game each time you come back to play.


Dissidia Final Fantasy for PSP Review

There are few franchises that have cast a larger shadow over the history of console gaming than Final Fantasy, and the core series of role-playing games has been constantly tweaked and upgraded through the years to stay current. There have certainly been games that have strayed from the usual jRPG format – the classic strategy game series Final Fantasy Tactics, and more recently the RTS-like Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings for the Nintendo DS. But one of the most anticipated entries in the series is the fighting game called Dissidia Final Fantasy. Square Enix released a demo on the PSN…


iPlaylist Creator for iPhone/Touch App Review

How amazing would it be to be able to create play-lists from any songs on your iPhone without syncing or using iTunes or a computer?  I have found a way to do just that!  iPlaylist Creator enables iPhone users to create and listen to play lists on the go easily on the iPhone. Features: -Creates Playlists -Easy Drag and Drop songs into any playlist -Sort the songs how you want to play them -Reorder your playlists manually to make your favorite ones show at the top of the list -Color your playlists and change the colors to match your moods…


New iPhone cases from Griffin Technoloy

Griffin was one of the very first accessory manufacturers to churn out items for Apple’s line of personal media players.  They’ve been making cases, chargers, FM transmitters and other items for a long time.  There’s an old marketing phrase that goes something like “innovate or die.”  It seems Griffin recognizes this, and instead of sticking with the same lineup of cases year after year they’ve recently released several new iPhone cases for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs. Griffin was kind enough to send Judie and me a few of the new cases for review.


Pang For iPhone/Touch Review

A bubble blast from the past, Pang is the game you love and remember from the 80’s, even better today on the iPhone and iPod touch. Test your reflexes in this hugely addictive official remake, “Pang”, also known as “Buster Bros” in the US. Travel from Japan to the tropical shores of Hawaii as you take up the task of saving civilisation from dangerously bouncing bubbles that threaten city landmarks across the planet. Can you save Mount Fuji from being flattened by spherical dangers? Will your reactions be good enough to defend the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty?…


The Netbook Gamer: Unreal (1998, FPS)

Given that my first love of gaming is first-person shooters (FPS) based on my love of the original Castle Wolfenstein back on my Apple ][+, it is somewhat surprising that I was ‘late to the party’ on Unreal by nearly a year. But hey, gimme a break – I had a three-month old colicky baby when it was released in late May of 1998. Yes, that is right: Unreal is well past the celebration of its tenth birthday … but in terms of my ownership it has just passed the decade mark, so I guess that counts for something! You…


mSpot Mobile Movie Streaming Review

You use your smartphone for everything from playing music, snapping photos, recording video, banking, and playing games.  Are you ready to rent and view your next movie on your mobile phone?  mSpot certainly hopes so.  The company recently launched its mobile movie rental service and allowed me to trial it for a few days. Take a look at the mSpot service in action, and find out whether mSpot deserves a spot on your smartphone… http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UWl-AXuK9ik Above you’ll see mSpot streaming a scene from “The Reader” to my iPhone.  The process to rent a film from mSpot is straightforward.  Just go…


IM+ by SHAPE Services for Windows Phone Review

Instant Messaging (IM) has gained popularity over the years, and it has become part of our lives now in the communication world. With mobile devices gaining popularity, everyone would love to stay connected with their IMs. Some of the popular IMs out there include MSN®/Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!®, and Google Talk. Those are all separate applications, requiring space on users’ devices and requiring them to juggle between each application when they want to IM their friends on the different services. What a pain! SHAPE services has come to the rescue, with IM+! IM+ is a messaging client that lets you…


Powermat Wireless Charging System – Review

Why should the Palm Pre have all the fun when it comes to cordless charging? Well now, thanks to Powermat USA, just about any device can charge without being directly plugged into a power socket. And if you have an iPhone, iPod touch or Blackberry device, all you have to do to charge them is… well nothing, you just put them on the table. Here’s a look at this innovative system…


Autograph from Ten One Design – Quick Look

Autograph from Ten One Design is one of those Mac applications that you definitely don’t need but at just $6.95 it is definitely worth a look. For just a few dollars it adds some unique functionality to your MacBook Pro. Simply put, Autograph is a signature capture application for MacBook Pros and a variety of Waacom tablets. With it you can add a signature using one of the company’s Pogo Stylus or Sketch devices. While a finger will work, the Pogo “pens” allow you to actually add your initials or even a signature with a fair degree of accuracy. Let’s…


Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra Review

Not all speaker sets are created equal, that much is certain.  Altec Lansing has sent me their latest — and what I consider their best — the Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra Speakers. The Expressionist Ultra is currently the top of the Altec Lansing line.  This very stylish three speaker system boasts 200 Watts of power, and its tremendous sub woofer is bigger than the computer the system is connected to.


Review: MapQuest Navigator for iPhone

Last week, I took a look at MotionX GPS Drive.  The hits just keep coming, and this week a big player stepped into the ring.   MapQuest comes to us with a new off-board (maps are loaded over the Internet on the fly) navigation app which they have kindly allowed me to test drive. With the iPhone Navigation market getting quickly populated, I was curious to know how a big player like MapQuest would do in this space, especially given their long experience in mapping and route navigation.  So let’s take a look!


Whac a Mole iPhone Game Review

I am 100% a child of the Jersey Shore…I have fond memories of begging my parents for a handful of quarters, which I then immediately blew on Skee Ball and Whac a Mole. Skee Ball was fun, but I have a terrible throwing arm, plus Whac a Mole would arm me with a hammer! So when Kiloo Apps offered Gear Diary the chance to review Whac a Mole for the iPhone, my inner 5 year old volunteered immediately! How did the iPhone game measure up to the real thing? Read on to find out!


Disney Digital Books Review

It’s a ritual around my house, and I imagine it’s done in households everywhere — the bed time story.  Whether one of my kids is laying down for a mid day nap or getting tucked in for the night, they always get a story before they close their eyes. With three girls at home we’ve become fans of many of the Disney characters, so when Disney Digital books asked us to review their new online service I jumped at the chance.  Disney Digital Books provided me with a one month test subscription to try the service out at home with…


Review: Wolfenstein for PC, XBOX360 & PS3

As I’ve tossed out before while talking about the Wolfenstein iPhone releases, my history with Wolfenstein is nearly 30 years old. I’m not sure how I initially found out about it – it could have been an impulse buy at the local computer center – but from the moment I started playing Castle Wolfenstein on my Apple ][+ I was hooked. Locks that told you they would take 75 seconds to pick – and that was *real time*! During which you were vulnerable to the ever-roaming guard patrols. By the time Wolfenstein 3D came out in 1992 the gaming press…


Why I Love Roboform

One of my first favorite ‘free’ Internet programs was Claria’s “Gator”. What I naively found out later is, so far as I’m concerned, Gator essentially invented the Spyware industry. It originally allowed you to store passwords to all your websites so that rather than remember them, you could allow it to fill them in automatically. However, over time they started pushing pop-up ads onto your computer and started overwriting Google search results. Eventually people found out about the adware but the product itself actually worked until Gator was shut down in 2006. In came RoboForm which has nothing to do…


Review: MySims Agents for Wii

The Sims franchise has been a major powerhouse of sales and popularity on the PC for years, but has never really translated into success on consoles and handhelds, managing only modest sales and average reviews. As the franchise moved to the Wii in 2007 it was transformed into MySims, which removed all of the teen and adult-focused content and targeted a younger audience. The MySims franchise has been focused on the Nintendo platforms (aside from a single PC entry), and while it has been better than the dismal Nintendo DS entries, the response has still been mixed reviews and unspectacular…